University of Vermont Extension
Department of Plant and Soil Science

Fall News Article

COMBATING THE ELEMENTS

By Dr. Leonard Perry, Extension Professor
University of Vermont

Neither wind, nor rain, nor sleet, nor
hail may stop your trusty mailman from delivering your letters, but when
it comes to the elements, your landscape plants may not be as rugged. They
need your help to withstand severe weather conditions.

Wet snow that accumulates on tree and shrub
branches can bend them over. Some may break and so must be removed. Bending
damages the bark and cambium tissue, leading to cankers or death of the
stem the following growing season.

Shrubs that would collapse under heavy
snow loads can be protected or supported. To protect small shrubs, place
crates or wooden tepees over them in the fall. These protective coverings
will support some of the snow load.

Taller shrubs can be wrapped with cord.
Tie the cord to the base of a stem and then wind it around the shrub. The
tied bundle of stems will help support one another.

Ice causes similar injuries as those in
the north country all too well know from the winter of 1998. Plants that
are regularly bent over by ice should be supported. For smaller plants
use a bicycle tire inner tube or similar landscape material looped loosely
around the stems. Larger plants require cables. The supports need to be
flexible as rigid supports may cause breakage at the point of support.
Such breakage commonly occurs when wooden props or stepladders are placed
under ice-laden branches.

Do not try to remove the ice. It normally
melts in a short time. Ice-covered branches are heavy, so trying to remove
ice is likely to cause additional damage.

Hail can damage the bark on young branches
and shred the leaves. Branches with heavily damaged bark may die. Prune
away these dead branches.

Wind injury is usually obvious and not
difficult to diagnose. Wind can break branches or the trunk, uproot trees,
and split forked trees. To prevent injury, cut back the stubs of broken
branches to just outside the shoulder ring. You can repair split trees
with a combination of threaded steel rods and cables, but the results may
not justify the expense.

A large uprooted tree should be removed,
but you may be able to save smaller trees by replanting the exposed roots
as soon as possible. Sometimes the roots are not exposed, but the root
zone is lifted up when the tree's roots are pulled upward. In either case,
guy the tree for support, then water to settle the soil back around the
roots. Some die back may occur. The extent will depend on the amount of
root injury the tree suffered.